Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: stevewfl on September 16, 2011, 05:03:18 PM
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The C14 won ;D
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/junk1/20110916-DSC_6706.jpg)
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I'm not sure what's worse... the cleaning which seems to take days or the smell inside your helmet as you are driving thru the swarms of lovebugs....
No trips for me during the lovebug seasons...... it's the only time of the year I will not ride (other than going back and forth to work)
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The cleaning takes a few seconds, lay a wet warm towel on them ahead of cleaning and they come right off. The sweet Cee baily's Ultra Tour i had all the way up, and helmet and didn't personally hit any.
1st time ever had the sweet ultra tour windshield was sky high while riding ;D
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Seconds my @ss....
I've lived here in Florida all my life and know what a pain lovebugs are!!
After riding thru the season on both the Connie and my Goldwing, I damn near disassembled both of them to get every last greasy, splattered, bug carcass off. I had lovebug goo up inside the air intakes, clogging the radiator, smeared into the switch assemblies on the handlebars, front brake calipers--even splats across the INSIDE of the windshield.
I buy peroxide by the quart bottle if I have to be out...
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Seconds my @ss....
I've lived here in Florida all my life and know what a pain lovebugs are!!
After riding thru the season on both the Connie and my Goldwing, I damn near disassembled both of them to get every last greasy, splattered, bug carcass off. I had lovebug goo up inside the air intakes, clogging the radiator, smeared into the switch assemblies on the handlebars, front brake calipers--even splats across the INSIDE of the windshield.
I buy peroxide by the quart bottle if I have to be out...
Warm water on the towel for a few minutes, they start sliding down as soon as i pull the towel off............
For the plastics, spray a dash of pledge and wipe it on before you leave, then warm water they fall right off.
Perhaps I should make a youtube training video when i go clean it tonight? I live in FL and have it down to a science (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
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WISH I had pics of ride the ribbon over labor day in Oregon . The FS Rd 16 was ButterflyBlvd. I mean like 2 billion of them. It was like snow.
When we got home it took a while to clean :o :o :o them. Butterflys are better tha FLA. "%#^ bugs for sure ;D
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WISH I had pics of ride the ribbon over labor day in Oregon . The FS Rd 16 was ButterflyBlvd. I mean like 2 billion of them. It was like snow.
When we got home it took a while to clean :o :o :o them. Butterflys are better tha FLA. "%#^ bugs for sure ;D
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
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Steve, where did you hit them?
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:yikes: ... Nasty.
What did your helmet and jacket look like?? :hitfan:
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didn't you know? the kipass keeps the lovebug splats isolated to the windshield!!! ::)
:yikes: ... Nasty.
What did your helmet and jacket look like?? :hitfan:
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:yikes: ... Nasty.
What did your helmet and jacket look like?? :hitfan:
As I mentioned above the cee baily's Ultra was all the way UP and I ducked right in under it. I also put my left sleeve on the tank for long periods, the right sleeve had a couple of bugs but not bad ;D
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didn't you know? the kipass keeps the lovebug splats isolated to the windshield!!! ::)
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/lol.gif)
But my FOB had a dead battery
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Steve, where did you hit them?
The were not in Tampa nor Miami but mid state in the rural areas
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Heck I got a good coating on the turnpike from Fort Pierce to Pompano the other day...but the weather was perfect and the connie was running very strong 8)
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Another good thing to pre-coat the front end with is a non stick cooking spray like Pam. Might not be the most attractive solution for the windshield but it works. Also that bug juice will ruin your paint and etch the plastic if left on long.
I learned the pam trick from some folks down in baton Rouge La. Now those folks know about love bugs.
As far as knowing that they will eat the sh*t out of your paint, I see it all the time. I am a wholesale car dealer and have looked at hundreds of thousands of vehicles at car auctions over the last twenty years. When the bumpers and hoods are screwed up by the bug juice you almost always have to paint them. The stuff after a while will not come off.
If I was traveling in areas that had the lovebugs the pam would go along for the ride. Hey its also works on cars of course.
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you are correct--nasty stuff! Pam accidentially applied to close to the pipes gives me the munchies tho... ;D
Plexus is another good alternative for pre-treatment and also for cleaning.
The hood of my truck was all etched up after 10 years of lovebug swarms...
Another good thing to pre-coat the front end with is a non stick cooking spray like Pam. Might not be the most attractive solution for the windshield but it works. Also that bug juice will ruin your paint and etch the plastic if left on long.
I learned the pam trick from some folks down in baton Rouge La. Now those folks know about love bugs.
As far as knowing that they will eat the sh*t out of your paint, I see it all the time. I am a wholesale car dealer and have looked at hundreds of thousands of vehicles at car auctions over the last twenty years. When the bumpers and hoods are screwed up by the bug juice you almost always have to paint them. The stuff after a while will not come off.
If I was traveling in areas that had the lovebugs the pam would go along for the ride. Hey its also works on cars of course.
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you are correct--nasty stuff! Pam accidentially applied to close to the pipes gives me the munchies tho... ;D
Plexus is another good alternative for pre-treatment and also for cleaning.
The hood of my truck was all etched up after 10 years of lovebug swarms...
Yes sir, Plexus is the reason my Ultra Tour shield looks brand new after 41,000 miles
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I hit a few bugs on a trip across Wisconsin a couple of summers ago on my Street Glide
(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v4412/176/20/684011180/n684011180_3343610_7341121.jpg)
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The were not in Tampa nor Miami but mid state in the rural areas
Thanks Steve. That was kind of what I was thinking.
I ran up to ST Pete today and only hit a few in 300 miles.
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I hit a few bugs on a trip across Wisconsin a couple of summers ago on my Street Glide
(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v4412/176/20/684011180/n684011180_3343610_7341121.jpg)
Nice!
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Thanks Steve. That was kind of what I was thinking.
I ran up to ST Pete today and only hit a few in 300 miles.
+1
I went to Miami via Naples and alligator alley and only hit a few bugs from Tampa. Then got the bright idea to take the rural roads across FL on the return trip and hit swarms!
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I've discovered that the big juicy bugs aim for that spot right below the wind screen so that they splatter up onto the inside of the wind screen...right where it is impossible to reach them without removing the wind scren.
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I've discovered that the big juicy bugs aim for that spot right below the wind screen so that they splatter up onto the inside of the wind screen...right where it is impossible to reach them without removing the wind scren.
Between moving the windshield all the way up and my long hands I seem to be able to clean it without taking the windshield off the bike.
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Hey Beamer
I thought HD dudes didnt care about a few bugs!
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Hey Beamer
I thought HD dudes didnt care about a few bugs!
I swear I could look in the mirror and see a bat-wing shaped hole in the bugs behind me lol
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WISH I had pics of ride the ribbon over labor day in Oregon . The FS Rd 16 was ButterflyBlvd. I mean like 2 billion of them. It was like snow.
When we got home it took a while to clean :o :o :o them. Butterflys are better tha FLA. "%#^ bugs for sure ;D
CB, did either of you get any pictures of that 'snowstorm'? Charlie had a camera on his fairing, but the battery died before we got there.
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Another trick to removing love bugs is dryer sheets. It seems that whatever they use in them pretty much wipes bugs off of cars pretty well. It's about a 90% solution anyway, and quite useful for getting the worst of them off while you are out on the road.
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Steve, where did you hit them?
I'd say the way they splattered he hit them from the front ;)
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Excellent! That's from the bike's point of view... From the bugs, it could have been anywhere on their little bodies depending on which way they were flying at the time.
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We don't allow love bugs to cross the St. John's River into Volusia county....not a single one on my C-14 the last week!
Volusia County Deputies have an M-60 in the Jet Ranger with a bug laser to make sure no illegal border crossings occur....
And if you don't ride....should not have a problem killing those poor innocent creatures making love to each other full-time.
Ninja
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pour hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and give them a couple squirts. after the bubble stop, rinse off with a garden hose.
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We don't allow love bugs to cross the St. John's River into Volusia county....not a single one on my C-14 the last week!
Volusia County Deputies have an M-60 in the Jet Ranger with a bug laser to make sure no illegal border crossings occur....
And if you don't ride....should not have a problem killing those poor innocent creatures making love to each other full-time.
Ninja
They also don't seem to like Brevard County either. I only see a few when I'm heading across 192 to Orlando. 8)